A former London Tube worker who was jailed for terror offences is back on the streets of London after serving just 11 months of a 31-month sentence, it has been revealed.

Capital live - the best news and pictures from London

Welcome to the Standard's daily blog - a Londoner's live guide to the breaking stories in our city, important travel updates and the best of the capital's culture and parties from our award-winning team of critics and diarists. Email your news and pictures to blog@standard.co.uk.

London's headlines

● Gay marriage: the Government announces "opt-in" for religions, but not the CofE.

● 2011 Census release shows that one in three Londoners were born abroad.

● A giant inflatable duck is floating down the Thames, promoting happiness...

by Joshi Herrmann edited by Gareth Vipers12/11/2012 1:30:41 PM

3rd & 7 37yd

3rd & 7 37yd

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GOOD MORNING...

... and welcome. Christmas party season is well underway so I hope you're all feeling fresh this morning. Stay tuned for the best news and pics from London

by Andrew Liddle12/11/2012 9:07:21 AM

THE SKY IS THE LIMIT...

Tulisa performed a concert on the 34th floor of the BT tower yesterday evening, as part of a series of gigs to promote BT Infinity broadband. The singer, who is best known as a member of London hip-hop group N-Dubz, was stremed live through YouTube to thousands of viewers. Conor Maynard has previously performed live as part of the series.

This image of Tulisa performing is brought to us courtesy of PA

by Andrew Liddle edited by Joshi Herrmann12/11/2012 9:09:23 AM

TRAVEL UPDATE

There is a GOOD SERVICE operating on all underground lines this morning.

But keep a look out for frost and ice on roads and pavements today, it's only 1 degree in London at the moment.

by Andrew Liddle12/11/2012 9:17:03 AM

WHAT A MAVERICK

Tom Cruise was in town last night for the premier of his new film, Jack Reacher. Cruise, pictured above, spent hours chatting with fans and signing autographs. You can just glimpse a fan with a picture of him from his breakthrough film, Top Gun. Rosamund Pike and Robert Duvall were among a host of stars who attended the event.

Pic courtesy of PA

by Andrew Liddle edited by Joshi Herrmann12/11/2012 9:23:54 AM

EYE-SKATE

Get your skates on! The London Eye is offering a festive twist on its usual format this Christmas. While you can still grab incredible views of the capital, you can now couple it with an ice-skating trip. The rink - which ranks alongside other landmark ice-rinks, including Somerset House and the Natural History Museum - is positioned in the shadow of the great wheel.

Charlotte Jeffrey is posing here in a capsule filled with (fake) snow to promote the new rink. Courtesy of PA.

by Andrew Liddle edited by Joshi Herrmann12/11/2012 9:39:49 AM

by Andrew Liddle12/11/2012 9:45:48 AM

HOLY DUCK!

A giant 50ft rubber duck is being prepared to sail down the Thames. The duck, pictured here with Canary Wharf in the background, is part of a new FUNdation, suppourted by 'Jackpotjoy', to encourage Brits to have more fun. The fund provides capital to support 'quacky' ideas...

by Andrew Liddle edited by Joshi Herrmann12/11/2012 10:01:30 AM

DUCK UPDATE

The Independent's Deborah Orr saw this post and tweeted:

Well, the giant inflatable duck floating down the Thames is making ME happy.

There's also a live photo of the duck here, spotted floating by @Matt_Smally from his desk.

by Joshi Herrmann12/11/2012 10:27:14 AM

CENSUS

An hour ago, the Office of National Statistics released the second set of findings from the 2011 census. We will be looking at the interesting London figures as the day goes on, but here are a few to start:

• London's population density is 5,200. The national average is 371.

• One in three Londoners were born in a foreign country.

• Tower Hamlets is the least Christian area in the country.

• Ealing is the area of the country with the highest proportion of Polish-born residents.

The Guardian are running an excellent live blog on it, if you want crazy crazy detail.

Sorry for the lull in our blog just now - our system here at ES HQ went down for a few minutes.

by Joshi Herrmann12/11/2012 10:34:22 AM

BORIS ADVISER

Big news at City Hall this morning: Boris has hired the respected economist Gerard Lyons to be his full-time economic adviser.

Lyons was chief economist at Standard Chartered bank, and is a regular guest on TV as an economic guru.

Announcing the news, Lyons said:

We need to place London at the centre of the shift in economic balance and power in the world.

He will be paid £127,200 a year and 'will work for 29.6 hours a week', according to the Indy. With that kind of decimal precision, I think we can be sure Boris wasn't involved in drawing up the contract...

An interesting story from the Camden New Journal this lunchtime. They are reporting that a St Pancras coroner who was suspended for hiring his unqualified wife as his deputy has resigned. They write:

THE coroner investigated for hiring his unqualified wife to preside over inquests - including a hearing into Amy Winehouse's death - has resigned from the job, the New Journal can reveal.

St Pancras Coroner Dr Andrew Reid offered his resignation on Friday. He has been suspended since February after an inquiry was launched by the Office for Judicial Complaints.

by Joshi Herrmann12/11/2012 12:46:09 PM

GAY MARRIAGE

We've just had the government's statement in the House of Commons from Equalities minister Maria Miller. She said this was an opportunity to keep marriage 'relevant and meaningful' and confirmed the Standard's exclusive from last week that religious organisations will be allowed to conduct same-sex marriages.

She also promised an oddly-phrased 'quadruple lock' for religious institutions who do not want to have gay marriage ceremonies to protect them from potential legal challenges.

The Spectator's Isabel Hardman tweets an interesting line from the chamber:

Peter Bone shouts "no it doesn't!" as a colleague tells the Chamber that same sex marriage commands widespread support.

More reaction to come, of course.

by Joshi Herrmann12/11/2012 1:02:26 PM

BREAKING: GAY MARRIAGE

The Church of England will be banned in law from conducting same-sex marriages.

Other religions will be able to "opt in" when it comes to offering ceremonies, Culture Secretary Maria Miller has told MPs.

by Gareth Vipers12/11/2012 1:28:30 PM

#GAYMARRIAGE

Derek Richardson@DerekRichardsonIn years to come we will look back at this and wonder why it took so long!#GayMarriage

Joe Andrews @joeandrews_i don't understand how someone could be 'against' gay marriage it doesn't affect them at all#gaymarriage

Mark 'Harry' Honnor @harryhonnorNot following same-sex marriage debate cos I'm not that interested, but seems odd for Govt to make it illegal in CofE churches?#gaymarriage

Seeking_insight @insight_seekerSo LOVE still remains illegal in some corners of society and we're still in dark ages @stonewalluk#Gaymarriage VERY DISAPPOINTING

And a bit of a dressing down for Conservative MP Peter Bone that nicely brings together two of today’s biggest London stories…

Will Black @WillBlackWriterPeter Bone you poor man. Take a day off and go and look at the duck on the Thames. Nobody is asking you to have a #gaymarriage

by Gareth Vipers12/11/2012 1:35:02 PM

MUSIC

"Guess who's back..."

Getting hold of UK festival tickets is an art form in itself, and schedulers manage to get us shelling out hundreds of pounds almost a year before the actual events begin. But revelers far and wide were buoyed earlier today with the news that Eminem will be headlining next year's Reading and Leeds festivals.

There are SEVERE DELAYS on the OVERGROUND this afternoon due to a signal failure at Woodgrange Park.

But keep a look out for frost and ice on roads later this evening. While it is forecast to hover just above freezing for the rest of the afternoon (with glorious sun beaming in Kensington) things look set to freeze by around 10pm with temperatures dipping to -2 degrees and heavy fog taking hold early tomorrow morning.

by Gareth Vipers12/11/2012 3:04:10 PM

LONDON NEWS

"A CCTV video of a woman being dragged all the way up an escalator on her back has been released by Network Rail to urge travellers to take care at stations this Christmas."

Here's a sneak peak at today's Evening Standard. We bring you all of today's stories, sport and comment before anyone else. Available, for free, on a street corner near you... (all of the stories, and much much more, are available online)

by Gareth Vipers12/11/2012 4:19:01 PM

THAT'S ALL FOLKS...

Unfortunately we're going to have to leave it there for today - but we are pleased to report that TfL are now boasting a GOOD SERVICE on all lines. Alas, Londoners, this was accurate at the time of publication. Lest we not hold our collective breath.

Anyway, thanks for dropping by. We'll be back tomorrow morning with the usual mix of photos, breaking news, features and comment. Keep it safe on the roads tonight.